Choral Electronics

Singer-songwriter Pat Grossi’s entry into the music world started early. His father worked for a popular LA-based rap label, and while we were all saving our lunch money to buy Snoop Dog and Dre CDs, Grossi was in his dad’s office meeting those guys. His musical project Active Child released the debut You Are All I See in 2011 to positive reviews and later went on a tour opening for M83. So, for sophomore EP Rapor, there’s a lot of buzz and high expectations.

On top of that, Ellie Goulding covered one of Active Child’s tracks, “Hanging On,” and used it as her album single. But Grossi hasn’t had much of an issue with exceeding expectations. As a kid, he toured worldwide with the Philadelphia Boys Choir and today it’s his powerful, high-pitched vocals that make each song so emotional and intriguing. Goulding appears on Rapor in “Silhouette,” singing a duet with Grossi: “Tell me that you’ll stay even when I’m far away / My voice will carry through until the end, it’s me and you.”

“Silhouette” aside, the album lyrically focuses on the tragedies of love and failed relationships. In “Feeling Is Gone,” Grossi recalls a time when love faded awa, and in “Calling In The Name of Love” he switches focus to the aftermath: “Took three more years to fall apart / And another ten years to mend our hearts.” The track “Evening Ceremony,” however, brings the hope of rekindled love before wrapping up the six-song EP.

Most people probably wish they could recount a love lost as elegantly as Rapor does. Grossi has once again succeeded in clashing two opposite sounds together and making it sound right, while also remaining tasteful and delightful.